Brainstorm Media has acquired North American rights to Tolga Karaçelik’s “Psycho Therapy: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write About a Serial Killer.” The dark comedy, which stars Steve Buscemi, premiered at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival where it won an Audience Award. It will be released in cinemas and on VOD in April.
The movie is about a struggling writer. In the midst of a divorce, he befriends a retired serial killer, who becomes his marriage counselor by day, and killing counselor for his next book by night. The film is Karaçelik’s English-language directorial and screenwriting debut. In addition to Buscemi, it co-stars John Magaro (“Past Lives”) and Britt Lower (“Severance”).
“Tolga Karacelik has crafted a film full of twists and turns (and an all-star cast) that will keep people on the edge of their seat throughout,” Michelle Shwarzstein, Brainstorm Media CEO, said in a statement.
“I make films I love watching, and this film is one of them,” Karaçelik said in a statement. “What started as a simple idea in 2015 grew into something much bigger, and in the process, I grew too— as a filmmaker and as a person. It was a pleasure to work with all the crew and actors, but especially working with John, Britt, and Steve was an incredible experience.”
The film’s producers include Karaçelik, Buscemi, Scott Aharoni, Sinan Eczacibasi, Alihan Yalcindag, Wren Arthur, Alex Peace Power, and Mustafa Kaymak.
Magaro and Lower were executive producers along with Can Gürsoy, Aykut Sanver, Daniel John Goldberg, Kanat Dogramaci, Eppie Özen, Irmak Pakdemir, Ali Yürürer, Aret Taşciyan, Lauren Chen, Jon Wroblewski, Christian Sosa, Ahmet Kenan Bilgiç, Tara Khorti, Julien Levesque, Özge Bulut Marasli, and Peter Veverka
Alex Peters from Brainstorm Media negotiated the deal with UTA Independent Film Group on behalf of the filmmakers. Mimi Steinbauer’s Radiant Films International will handle international sales on “Pscyho Therapy,” launching the title at EFM. Steinbauer and Karis Aldridge, Radiant’s head of sales, will present to potential distributors, with a screening of the film in Berlin.
Read the full article at Variety.